The sun was breaking through the clouds as
17-year-old Mackenzie Browning pushed her shades aside and looked out her
bedroom window. Her smile, which was usually non-existent, was now shining
brightly. Instinctively, she pushed both sides of her hair behind her ears
and let the shade relax into its original position. The room was suddenly
blanketed in a light darkness and Mac, assimilating herself to her preferred
surroundings, closed her large brown eyes and let her body relax. She felt
her back hit the wall with a final thump. And her hands left her hair and
trailed down to her stomach.

Pregnant. The feeling
spread throughout her whole body and she let out a happy sigh. Then,
anxiousness took over her. Billy should have arrived by now. He wasn’t
talking to Brittany, that was for damn sure. Feeling strangely tired, she
fell onto the bed, her hands still tickling the peak of her stomach, her
thoughts focusing on Billy.

“Hey, you. I haven’t seen
you all day.”

“I’ve been hiding.”

“Have you.”

“Yeah. You know what they
say.”

“No, what?”

“Absence makes the heart
grow fonder.”

“Well for me, it makes me
want to kiss you more. Hey, how is our little prince doing?”

“Can’t forget that, now can
I? Oh, God, Mac. You are so beautiful. No, no. I am not trying to
flatter you. What I am saying, it comes straight from in here.”

KNOCK KNOCK

Mac hoisted herself up and
looked at the door, a question mark lining her forehead in anticipation.

“Who is it?”

“Esther.” Mac, still having
good use of her legs, walked over to the closet and tipped over a box that
said: School Supplies. Inside the box was a multitude of large,
comfy flannel shirts that easily hid her new figure. She slipped one on,
buttoned it over her baby tee, and safety opened the door, putting on a
smile for Esther.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Hi, Mackenzie. Um, I thought
you would like to do something for me.”

“Sure, what?”

“Um?” It was then that Mac
noticed the urn that the brunette maid had hidden behind her back. “Could
you cut some flowers from Mrs. C’s garden? I thought you would like to do
it.” She handed her the urn as if it were made of gold and silver.

“I would love to. Thanks.”

“Sure. See you later,
Mackenzie.”

“Yeah, thanks again, Esther.”
Mac took the urn that the maid had revealed with a flourishing sweep
of her arms. With both hands, surprised at how lightweight it was, Mac
took the urn and gave Esther another small smile. Esther turned her back
and went into the Victorian bathroom that was next to Mackenzie’s room. Mac
silently laughed at the maid, and her naïveté while descending the stairs.
She exited the house through the front door and stopped for a little while,
observing the situation.

Outside, it was eerily quiet.
The neighbors were away and the birds seemed to have gone to their nests to
sleep a nap. Transfixed at the house in front of her, Mac set the urn down
for future use. A warm wind blew her loose brown strands across her nose
and glossy lips. Mac carefully put her hand on her stomach and kneeled on
the ground in front of the main rose bed. A cacophony of pink and red
flowers decorated the old house, giving it a deceiving look. Somehow, Mac’s
smile had turned upside down again as she picked flowers. From the back of
her, one could see that her shoulders were tense.

Then, she jerked her head up.

She wasn’t alone.

Or was she imagining things?
She supposed that pregnancy make women feel strange sensations.

Such as the feeling that she
was being watched. A feeling of obscurity watched over her and she did not
dare turn around, afraid of what she would encounter. Maybe if she
continued working, she would not be subjected to whatever was behind her. .
.

To her left, or to her right.

Mac was then aware of her
loud, labored breathing. The wind kicked up again, this time blowing all of
her long brown hair in front of her face. At that moment all she could hear
was the wind. Suddenly, in a fit of instant terror, she threw her hair away
from her face and let out a short, shrill “no”.

Her tendrils stayed as still
as her taut body. Like a robot, she reached out her hand to pick the first
flower. Then, she felt a tremor run through her body. It wasn’t concrete,
but she thought she heard something. Without her consent, her neck
muscles craned toward the left.

Not a soul. Not a sound. Mac
closed her mouth and swallowed the lump that she realized was lodged in her
throat. Inside of her, Caitlin kicked as if saying that everything was
alright and that she was being a silly mommy. Mac’s smile turned up again
and she firmly placed the flower in her hand grasp. With a more relaxed
posture, she picked the second flower. Its petals were slightly wilted but
it was still beautiful. There was something about a flower that made it
seem never the less appealing, no matter how old it was.

She heard it that time. Mac
let the flowers drop to the ground and this time she turned her whole body
fearfully to the right. She had heard the rustle of the leafy bushes, and
no wind could do that. Mac sat hunched on the ground, face uptight, her
stomach heaving up and down. She sluggishly hoisted herself up so she felt
authoritative against the lurking evil.

“Who’s there?” She
whispered. Actually, she did not really whisper, but rather croaked.

She whirled around to face the bushes,
now as still as before. A new courage suddenly racked her body like a
whirlwind and she incautiously strode toward the bush, every now and then
darting her eyes to watch.

Mac, you are probably
imagining. She scolded herself.

She was inches away from the
foliage. Unsteadily, she yanked away the leaves, sure to find a flurry of
hands grabbing for her neck.

Nothing. Mac’s mouth dropped
open in shock. Now that she was in the clear, she was sure she had
heard something.

“Hey Mac.” Mac turned around
again, almost losing her balance. Billy was standing behind her, his car
keys curled in his fist and his hair in a slight disarray from the wind.
“Hey, are you okay?” He asked, his eyes small in amusement from seeing her
examining the bush. He neared toward her as he said those words. “Sorry I
was late.” Mac wasn’t relieved. Once again, her breathing quickened, and
her mouth went dry. She wanted to keep her thoughts that were running
through her mind to herself. Billy wasn’t the type; he would never try to
frighten her like that. He was now close enough to almost touch her.

“How long have you been
here?” Mac interrogated, staring up at him inquisitively.

“I just pulled in and I jogged
over here.”

“Then how come I didn’t hear
you, huh?”

“Mac,” Billy squinted his eyes
and shook his head in slight confusion. “You make it sound like an
accusation.”

“You think?” Mac raised her
voice. She then gave Billy a shove, which wasn’t enough to upset his
state of balance, but it was unexpected and he stumbled back.

“Mac--”

“What the hell did you think
you were doing?” Billy continued shaking his head in slow motion. “You son
of a bitch.”

“Mac I--I don’t know what you
are talking about but you need to calm--”

“The hell you don’t know.”
Mac’s eyes were misty as she belabored him with her anger, which was based
on requited terror. “How could you? You know, I thought you loved me.”

“Mac! I love you. I love you
so much. I don’t know why you are screaming at me. Why--why are you doing
this?”

“Cut the crap, Billy. I heard
you in the bushes.”

“You heard--Mac, it wasn’t
me.”

“Gee,” she snapped at him. “I
am picking roses and I hear a noise and who shows up suddenly without a
sound? It is Billy Abbott. Come on wise guy. Let’s hear another excuse.
You have a lot of those don’t you.”

“Mac, I swear to you I
didn’t --”

They both heard the twig
snap. A soft echo bounced off the mansion as they both listened. And
waited.

“What the hell was that?”
Billy whispered. He reached Mac’s side and took her hand. Now the two
teens were dependent on each other. He apprehensively looked around. “I
told you it wasn’t me.”

“Sorry,” Mac whispered. “But
if it wasn’t you, then who was it?”

“Whoever it was,” Billy said
in a soft voice, “his or her guard is up now because I don’t hear a thing.”

“That is what scares me,” Mac
muttered to him.

“Look.” Billy said, letting
go of her hand and putting his arm around her. “Maybe it was just an
animal. A deer or something.”

“A deer?” Mac asked
incredulously, staring up at him with turned up eyebrows. “Billy, get
serious.”

“I am,” he insisted,
grinning. Mac shook her head and punched his arm. Still, she smiled up at
him. “Hey, I don’t hear anything anymore. I think we are in the clear.
Maybe, you know, we are both going crazy. My dad has been razzing me about
slacking off on schoolwork and--”

“Quiet!” Mac’s gaze was fixed
on the bush again, her eyes slightly straying from the foliage to the
grass. “I hear footsteps,” she softly whispered, taking Billy’s right
hand. Billy’s face changed from amused to alert and his grip on Mac
tightened. “They seem so close but I don’t see anything.”

“Give me your shirt.” Billy
ordered.

“What?!”

“Give me your shirt. The
flannel one.”

“Wh--”

“Just give it to me Mac.”
Distressed, she slipped the shirt over her head and gave it to him, the
crunch of footsteps still reverberating in their ears. Then, both gasped
simultaneously as the footsteps all at once ceased.

“Billy, that isn’t good.” Mac
said, leaning closer into him. “Maybe we should go in the house, you know,
and--and call the police and--”

“Mac, they won’t do
anything.” He took the shirt in both hands and stretched it out a bit for
good measure.

“Billy, this guy, or whoever
may be dangerous.”

“I don’t think so. I think we
can take him.” Billy said.

“You should listen to him.” A
deep voice answered. Mac screamed and slowly turned around with Billy.
Ralph Hunnicutt stood at the other side of the lawn, peeking behind a
larger, thornier bush.

4:Billy placed himself behind Mac
and put his hands on her shoulders. Beneath his strong hold, Mac could feel
that his hands were trembling. Ralph chuckled, sending chills all over
Mac’s body. “You couldn’t beat me up if you tried, Billy.” Mac took a deep
intake of breath. He knew his name. “Well, Mackenzie, I finally found
you. All grown up and all knocked up. Tsk. Tsk. What a pity.” Mac
didn’t cry when he teased her nor did she turn to Billy for support. She
felt angrier than she ever had in her life. Maybe it was because she was
afraid for her child or maybe it was a new strength in her. Whatever the
reason she vowed not to let Ralph destroy her. It isn’t like
he can get me pregnant (italics)

“Mac.” Billy rubbed
her arm and bit his upper lip. “He has a gun.”

“Where?” She whispered,
stiffening in Billy’s embrace.

“In his left hand.”

“What are you two whispering
about? Could it be about this?” And the couple shrunk back as he cocked
the gun at them. “I think it is obvious what I want. Mac, you have
tried to run and hide, but you knew that in the end I would find you. Billy
gallantly came from behind Mac, as if he were a general coming out from
behind his men.

“Uh, you are forgetting
something.” He pointed at the gun with his free hand. “I have the power.
And don’t think I won’t use it,” he said menacingly. As emphasis, he
pointed the gun straight at Billy.

“Okay,” Billy lamented.
“Okay.” He backed away towards Mac, bending his knees as if offering
peace. As he reached Mac’s side once more, he whispered to her, his bent
knees allowing him a disguise of sorts: “When I say run, run with me. A man
usually misses moving targets.”

“What the hell are you
whispering about?” Ralph screamed painfully. Mac quickly shook her
head at him.

“N-nothing.” She said.
Ralph’s eyes burned into hers, aggression stinging them into large
saucer-like potholes. The look chilled her.

“You know, I knew you were
always a slut. A sexy one, nonetheless. Always flirting with the guys
whenever I happened to be with your mom and you on outings.”

“Stop!” Mac finally sobbed,
now crying tears.

“Oh, you ashamed now?” Mac
sniffed in response. “Don’t be ashamed. I always liked you that way. Just
not with the other guys. Now with me, that would have been nice.”

“I--I never meant to flirt
with the other guys. I was only six. What did I know?” Mac wept. Ralph
showed no mercy, except he lowered the gun to his side.

“Now, it is time to show your
stuff to the guy you should have been paying attention to in the first
place.” And he gasped a little for dramatic effect, Billy guessed. “Me.”
Mac shook her head slowly and scrunched her face up to prevent herself from
breaking down. “No.”

“Oh, yeah.” He responded to
her, nodding in return. “Yeah. And your little boyfriend can watch. He’s
the one who knocked you up, right Mackenzie?”

“Ralph,” Billy began.

“YOU SHUT THE HELL UP, PRETTY
BOY!” Ralph suddenly yelled, waving the gun in the air. “You aren’t
involved in this. Why don’t you just walk the hell away. This is between
Mac and me.”

“Now, you are wrong.” Billy
stormed over in front of Mac. “I am between you and Mac, and if I have
anything to say about it--”

“You’ll what? Are you feeble
minded?” Ralph let out a little laugh and waved the gun again in front of
his own face. “I have a gun. Get it?”

“Do you think I give a damn?”
Billy retorted. Ralph snorted at him and sneered at what he thought
was Billy’s stupidity.

“Well, you should,” he said in
a disgusted tone of voice. “You know, I’ve noticed that about all these
people who live in this hick town. Always forgetting the obvious. Everyone
is always too trusting. Well, today, you are gonna wish you stayed right
back in the Big Apple.” Billy heard Mac gasp and he found her hand somehow,
and squeezed it.

“How did you know I lived in
NYC?”

“I fooled your mother into
thinking I was a telephone repair man and I saw a letter from you. I do my
own snooping.”

“Damn him,” Mac muttered.

“Now, enough with the
stalling. I must say, it was amusing for me.” Ralph told them. He pointed
the gun at them. “I want Mackenzie. One way or another, I will get her. I
will just shoot you, then, with her being pregnant, I will get her. Isn’t
life simple, Abbott?” Billy could hear the sound of his own breathing,
which frightened him even more. The gun was still pointed at him. He threw
a few swear words around in his head as he thought about death, and the
possibility that if he did something stupid, he may leave this world,
Mackenzie, and his baby. The potential was enough to make him want to give
everything up and just run.

Not without Mackenzie
(ital.), he feverishly reminded himself.

“Run.” He murmured to her.
In a blinding fury, Mac and Billy turned and began running the other way.
They heard Ralph yell out a protest, but they did not dare stop. They did
not dare face the gun that they both knew was pointed at them. As they
panted from the exertion, a gunshot rang in their ears, which was enough
incentive for them to continue pursuing their unknown path. It was a
path that Billy thought would lead them to peace; a path Mac was almost sure
would lead her to hell. Ralph had the gun, they had nothing.

“Missed,” Billy panted. His
long legs naturally outran Mac’s and in his immense fear, he willed himself
to slow down for her. “Mac,” he huffed again. “You gotta run. Faster.”

“I am trying, but I have a few
extra pounds,” she panted, in an lame attempt to lighten the mood. That was
in vain, since she felt like crying right now. There was no time to cry.
Billy was right. It was time to run, no matter what the consequence.

BLAM. Another threat to their
life, Billy thought as he got to a picket of tall trees. They stretched
about 19 feet in the air, their leaves just blossoming in the now-blazing
sun, which he now noticed was beating on his back, bringing up vexing sweat
beads that dripped down his back, which was a disgusting feeling, and
reminded him of blood running down someone’s back after being--

Run Abbott. Run.

He felt like he was Tarzan.
Streaming through the jungle, running from the hunter, who was out to get
Jane away from him--and away from the jungle.

Mac actually began running
faster. She cried something out but he didn’t hear her utterance. Ralph
then let out an inhuman howl of threat.

“You can’t get away from me,
Mackenzieee!” A burn shot through Billy’s abdomen and he grimaced but kept
on running. He quickly looked behind him. Mac was just to his left and
Ralph--they were not doing too badly in outrunning him. Still in the trees,
Billy listened to the crunch of unkempt, rotting leaves that had assimilated
themselves to their environment, and he let that be the pattern and drive
for his running.

BLAM.

“NO!” Mac screamed in terror,
hiccupping a sob. Her breathing was mixed in with her unnerved
hiccupping,
like a child afraid of a thunderstorm. Billy stared straight ahead,
thinking of this simile, and realized it was true: Mac was still a child.
She had never gotten a chance to be one until now. A child with a child.

(Ital. Until 2nd now) Until
now.

Or maybe she was a child.

And is reminded of it now.
Mac had never told him the whole story of what had happened in St.
Louis. She thought he was satisfied with what she had told him.

Less than satisfied. So many
questions. So little time.

Or maybe no time. But
nevertheless, she was like a child now, afraid of a man her mother had
brought into her life. With this thought blazing in his aching head, Billy
threw his hand behind her, and before the woods ended, she grabbed his hand
quickly, and together they kept in step.

“Let’s go,” Billy declared,
trying to shake some spirit into her. He could hear Ralph uttering some
sentences as he ran, but the man was out of breath himself, so Billy could
not understand the slurred phrases. With this alleged positive feedback, he
looked back, and saw that he was about 60 feet away from Ralph.

Bastard. And Billy
dragged Mac along, excited upon the fact that they were getting away from
him. Right now, he did not give a damn about the baby or anything else
except Mac’s protection. They were now going up a small hill that was just
ahead of the large stretch of forest. Resistance held him back. Mac had
stopped, heaving up and down in pain that stretched from her legs to
her chest.

“I--can’t.”

“Mac! You have to! You have
to save yourself first! Billy’s eyes depicted willingness, concern, and
terror, as well as exhaustion. Mac allowed herself to be taken in by his
expression. She could tell that he was inwardly praying for her to get over
her physical handicaps and forget everything that she had cared about her
whole life: her mental and physical well-being. Looking at the hill, it
didn’t seem so big when she had first moved to Genoa City, but now it was a
chasm that had no craggy foot holes.

“I’m not you!” She looked
back and saw Ralph cock the gun and fire it. However, the aim was
horrible.

“We are a part of each other,
remember. Mac, you gotta go up. For me!” Billy yelled. He waited for her
response. When she did not respond, he ran up the hill anyway.

“Are we sticking together or
what?” He asked, looking up at the sky, which had now hidden the sun.
However, dark clouds piled over a blue sky. Cool wind blew as Billy’s wiped
his brow, staring down at Mac, who was squinting into the one place where
the bright sky still loomed over.

“You jump I jump, right?” She
asked with a tired smile. Billy smiled at her, and she began making her way
up. Billy flopped down on the ground onto his stomach and stretched out
both his arms, knowing she wouldn’t make it all the way up. However, she
would make it to his hands. When she had sufficiently made it up, Billy
grabbed her arms and she let herself go slack.

“That’s it!” He cried.
“That’s it! Come on Mac! Use your legs as a post! She managed to do so
and in a second, Billy pulled her up. She fully stood up, then held her
stomach.

“Oh shit, Mac, we have no time
for that. Run!” Mac saw Ralph and each forgot their personal
pains. They were now on the street, running against the traffic in their
dizzy aggression.

“I’ll have you Mackenzie!”
Mac closed her eyes and ran, feeling the life inside her kick as she ran to
save herself and that piece of life that was created by two people who loved
each other.

“Mac!” Billy screamed.
“Run!” She knew she could not run much faster. The exertion was killing
her; both mentally and physically. “Look!” Billy breathed. “There--there
is a forest of trees on the right! We can probably lose him there.”

How come I find out about
this stuff now? Mac angrily thought to herself. She let
herself have a few long strides and she caught up with Billy once more and
she took his hand. He squeezed it for support, she supposed and they began
running toward the woods.

“After this,” Billy breathed,
“on my deathbed, I swear I will never run again.”

“I hear ya.” Mac muttered,
concentrating on moving her stiff legs.

“Ready?” Billy asked. They
were approaching the thick woods. Mac didn’t think about how dark it was,
or how muddy the ground was inside.

“Let’s go,” she said,
surprised at her authoritative tone of voice.

As she neared the denseness of
the woods, she heard the buzzing of insects; most likely they were bees or
hornets buzzing in the damp environment.

A perfect place for them,
huh. She closed her eyes and now concentrated on the feeling
of Billy’s hand. The buzzing ceased as her thoughts went to happier times.
She did not notice the mud that sucked them like quicksand, but
Billy’s strong strides kept her from its clutches. Dizziness overwhelmed
her from the zigzags that Billy pulled her through.

It was hard for him, trying to
deal with her method of trying to keep herself from breaking down. At one
time she had almost slammed into a tree. He found it easier to just not
think; just run and do what his intuition told him, which was to keep
on running. Getting lost would be better than getting killed--or raped.
His mind still racing, he ran straight in another direction, not sure where
it was leading. His feet were getting heavier from the exertion of running
with mud seeping in his flimsy socks and walking shoes. Billy slowed a
little and looked back.

No one was there. Mac
listened to his slowing breathing and became reassured herself. She finally
stopped running and relaxed.

“Billy. . .” She began. He
signaled her with his hand to be quiet. The stretch of woods was endless.

“Mac,” he whispered, putting
his arm around her to appease her. “I don’t know how the hell we are gonna
get out of here.”

“Don’t worry Billy,” she
replied, some of that startling determination seeping into her voice.
“We’ll get out of here.” Then she looked past the stretch of woods and saw
nothing but dampened mud, and rotten leaves that had fallen due to heavy
rain. “We just have to.” The teens looked at their surroundings in
astonishment, wondering how they had gotten so far.

“At least we are okay,” Billy
resolved, now walking a little ways forward, still staring out into the dark
nothingness. The sun was not visible in the denseness, making it plausible
that Ralph was out there. Hiding behind one of the old, large trees, making
a plan, his gun behind his back, his finger fondling the trigger.

“Okay, look, maybe there is a
way out of here. Maybe these woods aren’t so deep. I don’t think they
are. Genoa City is not one of those areas that is heavily wooded or
anything.”

“This is the city, it wouldn’t
be,” Billy agreed turning to face her. “Hey, since we’re safe, do you want
to rest or something?”

“No.” Mac stated, turning to
him, staring into his blue eyes.

“No.” Billy restated, his
breath caught in his throat with the scared look in her eyes.

“We aren’t safe here. I know
what you are thinking. If I didn’t know you as well as I do, I wouldn’t be
pregnant, would I?” Billy grinned, and wiped his brow.

“No.” He concurred. “No,
honey, you wouldn’t.” For a moment they forgot what they were doing and
smiled shyly at each other, remembering their nights spent in the
playhouse. The times they had spent preparing for the birth of their baby.
It had been a time of absolute utopia.

Blam.

A shot echoed from a distance.
Billy was on his guard, taking Mac's hand in his own, clutching it not only
for her reassurance, but for his. Both eyes stared into the horizon,
contemplating how much distance stood between them and the fired shot. Mac
pointed.

"Look, Billy!" A deer,
camouflaged in the trees, stood out. Its sleek body and doe eyes stared out
at them. The deer stopped as if checking them to see if they were safe.
Then, with a quick, graceful flash of skinny, powerful legs, it darted into
the trees. Mac swatted away a hornet, watching the deer disappear.

"You know," Billy decided.
"I'll bet he shot at that deer. We are okay." He began walking,
taking Mac with him. "I have a hunch that there is civilization that'a'way."

"I am so glad not to be
running. When we get to, uh, wherever we are going to go," Mac said,
chuckling at her perplexity, "then I am going to sleep for 3 days."

"Is he still kicking?" Billy
asked, his eyes crinkling. He had taken both of her hands and Mac looked
down. For some inexplicable reason, sometimes when Billy looked at her, she
would get incredibly flustered. Probably it was because she was amazed at
how much he loved her. The concern in his eyes was as genuine as crystal.
She recovered and looked back up, her eyes filled with happy tears.

"She (ital)," she said, moving
his hands in a back and forth motion. "is as strong as anybody. Billy, if
we can stand running away from Ralph, then I am sure our baby can stand being bounced around in the amniotic sac for a few hours.”

“I hope it isn’t a few hours,”
Billy moaned, putting his hands behind his head and walking forward.

“Hey, you.” Mac called after
him. “Can I have my shirt back?”

“Oh, yeah.” Billy grabbed it
from around his waist and gave it to her. “Sorry. Come on. I really don’t
think he is far away because we heard the shot and that deer creeped me
out.”

“Truthfully, me too.” Mac
said. “Let’s just go. Want to run some more?”

“Stung up.” She said. “You
are not teaching her how to talk.” Then she stepped in a mud hole. “Oh God
this stinks.”

“Forget about your shoes.
Let’s just keep going.”

“Do you even know where you
are going?” Mac inquired, now stopping to tap her foot. Billy could hear
the mud splashes as her foot descended upon the alien earth.

“Yes, I do.”

“I don’t know. . .”

“Mac.” Billy said, taking her
hand again. “Let’s go. Look, what I think is that if we walk, we make
progress. We argue--”

“I get it.” Mac said. “Since
when did you become so logical?” She walked quickly, now making Billy keep
up with her.

“Let’s just say you have had a
good influence on me,” he said with a grin.

BLAM.

“Shit!” Billy gasped. “Oh
shit, Mac. Run! Run!” He said it in a terrified whisper. He had never
used that tone of voice. Mac did not hesitate. It was just another gun
shot. In her fear, she had gotten used to the sound. Maybe she was
blocking out the sound. Then, as if an angel had descended upon Earth, she
found a tree that was good for climbing.

“Billy!” She called.
“Look!” And she pointed at the tall, leafless tree that was just twice as
tall as Billy himself.

“Bad idea. But I have a
better one.”

“Are you calling me stupid?”
She jested, seeing the log that he was pointing out to her. Nevertheless,
she followed him to safety. Then, a loud scream threatened to tear the last
seams of Mac’s sereneness.

“Mackenzie!” Billy virtually
stuffed her into the large log, which was filled with termites.

“Yuck!”

“Use your shirt,” Billy
whispered. “And I gotta get in.” Mac scooted back and Billy managed
to fit in next to her. Mac,” he said, gazing into her deep, spooked face.
“I am scared. No, I mean, now I am really scared. Mac, I am scared to
death.”

“Yeah, so am I.”

“No. Mac. No, you don’t
understand.”

“What do you mean?”

“That last shot was a long
time ago, and I thought about it. He was most likely far away because the
deer took a long time to get here. Deer run fast. Then, the other shot
came from real close. We would have heard footsteps running, because from
where he was, he would have had to run to shoot the gun from as close to us
as he did. And yell as close as he did.”

“What are you saying?” Mac
asked, an identical fear starting to take shape. “Billy, you have tears in
your eyes.

“Mac, I am saying--” Billy
gulped. “I am saying that--that Ralph isn’t alone.” Her hands clutched her
shirt in her hands, and a wave of fear swept over her, creating a shaking
sensation throughout her body. Then she realized that she was holding her
breath. Slowly she relaxed. “Mac, say something.” Her eyes started
blankly outside the log at a pile of ants, now clustered around a leaf.
Somehow, that was comforting. “Mac?”

“I need to get out of here. I
can’t be on my stomach here for so long.” She said, her voice placid and
wavering at the same time.

“We need to stay in here,”
Billy argued. “There are probably more than 1 man out there and we can’t
risk our necks out there. And I can’t run anymore, and neither can you.”

“Billy,” Mac finally said her
voice a frantic whisper. “I don’t want to be in here, have Ralph peak in
here and then say, ‘hiya, sweetie’, and then shoot you in the face. We have
to run. No matter what the cost. We stay here, they find us because we are
in one place.”

(Ital) And I have such a
cool head now.

“Yeah, but would they look in
a log?”

“Yeah, and do I really want to
go into premature labor in here?” She was hissing at him now, but she just
wanted to get the heck out of there. The air was stale and overly earthy,
and she could feel and hear the crunching of termite bodies beneath her
sweaty hands.

“Okay. Alright. You are
probably right.”

“Well, she said with a smile.
“I was wrong about the tree.” Billy smiled and gave her a quick, yet fervid
kiss.

“That’s why I love you.” And
he slipped out of the log, quickly brushing himself off and lending a
willing hand to Mac. He then bent down and grabbed the shirt, and tied the
dirty thing around his waist. The first thing he did was look around for
any signs of intrusion on their area of the woods.

“Nadie.” He responded when
Mac raised her eyebrows at him.

“Hey, that shirt has smashed
beetle brains on it,” Mac said. Billy shrugged. At least it wasn’t his
brains.

“Oh well.” He replied.

“Are you having a love affair
with my shirt or something?” They had started walking and Mac laughed, the
sound carrying itself through Billy’s thoughts and settling his fears.

“It is so hard to choose
between you and the shirt.”

“You are sick,” Mac laughed.
Billy glanced over at her and looked in front of him. A tree grove lay in
front of them. As if they weren’t dodging enough tree trunks.

“Race you to that bunch of
trees,” Billy challenged.

“Okay.” Mac laughed
nervously. She scanned the rest of the forest, but the rest had a huge
conglomerate of gnarled trees.

“Ready?”

“I’m ready.”

“Get set.” She gazed at him
again, amazed that he was doing all of this work for her. “GO!” For some
reason, Mac felt a competitive spirit about her and she ran as fast as she
could, never minding her burning legs. At the same pace, they came to the
trees and Mac slowed down. The race wasn’t finished, and Mac felt that
somewhere by those trees there would be someone to help them. Or some form
of shelter. Faster she ran, this hope guiding her speed and agility. At this rate, she decided, she would have to go to the hospital for a
checkup. Then, as if she had been transmitted through an old television
screen to a horror movie, a man jumped from behind the trees, making Mac
stumble back and Billy shout.

“Gotcha!” He scoffed, his
rifle conspicuously at his side. Mac’s legs seemed to be stuck in the
quicksand-like mud, not able to think, her mind stuck in another time,
another place, because now the man had grabbed her arms and was pulling her
across the terrain.

“NO! NO!” Mac snapped out of
her frightened trance and began struggling against his grasp. Billy. Where
was he?”

“RALPH!” The man suddenly
shouted. His voice was like nails on a board. “I GOT MACKENZIE!”

“Let go of me, you bastard,”
she seethed through clenched teeth. By happenstance, she caught Billy bent
over, holding his leg. “BILLY!” She cried, trying to woo him by her
circumstances.

Biting his lip, he got up and
began pulling Mac’s arm away from the man, who had a tight grip. While
pulling on her arm, he sneakily drew his leg back, and kicked the man right
in the groin. He bent over, his grip on her loosened, and the two teens
ran. But the man was not far behind. Mac could hear his footsteps
and Billy’s regular 4 letter ‘s’ words spit themselves out. This
time, neither teen looked back. Throughout the chaos, however, the teens
managed to run in sync with each other. Billy had to look down as he ran.
His leg was killing him, for the man that had tried to take Mac had butted
him in the knee with his rifle. Luckily, there was no damage except for
more pain.

Then Billy noticed a
difference in his environment. Unbelieving, he stared out. They had come
to the Newman ranch. He could still hear the fucking panting of the man,
the bounce of metal against metal and the pattering of pursuing footsteps.

He could still catch us
(ital)

The Newman ranch loomed as a
heaven on Earth. If they would be safe anywhere right now, it would be
there. Billy did not even know who lived there anymore; they changed living
arrangements so often. Or so that is what he heard from Jack and Ashley.
They had been his and Mac’s staunchest supporters. They were the only ones
who knew that Mac was pregnant and they accepted it with open arms. In
truth, Billy thought they were the only people in the world who would
understand. Well, the whole world would know now. Not that it would be a
good thing, because then his mother would know. And would open, as the
saying went, ‘a can of worms’.

“Mac, we are safe!” Billy
yelled, once again summoning his strength up to get to the door. Then, he
heard a grunt behind him. He turned around. Mac had tripped on the ground
and was bent down in a smarting pain. Instantly, Billy worried about his
child. If she miscarried, he would never be able to get enough revenge
against that bastard stepfather of hers. His own face contorted in pain,
looking at her like that. He couldn’t get over there fast enough to help
her.

“Mac, you okay?” He gasped.
He clutched her hand and got her up.

“I think so. But my ribs
really hurt.”

“The baby?”

“Yeah.” Billy then saw the
man coming through the woods, even though the sky was getting darker. He
was running like a headless ghost, ready to take his blood. Billy walked
backwards, getting his first overall good look at the man, terrified at his
speed and intentions, then raced the rest of the way to the elaborate door
and thumped on the door furiously. Mac reached him in time and followed
suit.

“HELP! LET US IN! MR. AND
MRS. NEWMAN! HELP! HELP!” Both were frantically shouting at the same
time, trying to break the door down if necessary. Mac looked back, and
banged on the door with more fierceness. Finally, a grand woman, who Mac
remembered as Nikki opened the door and the teens rushed in, stumbling into
each other and coming to a screeching halt by the center table.

“Close the door!” Billy
ordered Nikki. “Close the door now!”

“And lock it!” Mac shrieked,
taking time to catch her breath and strength. Nikki, driven by her sudden
fear of the unknown that had taken these usually calm teens to her door,
closed the door, then cried out when she received strong resistance.

“Oh God!” The woman struggled
against the resistance. Billy fantastically leapt from the couch where he
had just started nursing his stinging knee and strained muscles and pushed
against the door with Nikki. Mac, left on the couch with nothing behind her
but thick walls and a safe haven to rest, began letting out her emotions
that had been locked up in her tight, working muscles. This--these--men
would not stop at anything to get a hold of her. The grunting and pushing
provoked her to slowly move to the back of the room, crying until she felt
almost dead. She let herself slink down the floor and let her terror be
unmasked.

“We locked him out,” Billy
declared, walking with Nikki to the center of the room.

“Are you the only one here?”
Billy asked, wrapping his arms around Mac and embracing her with all his
being.

“Everyone else is up at Sharon
and Nicholas’s. They don’t know what is happening. Billy, right?”

“Yes.”

“I believe you owe me an
explanation.” Mac let out a loud sob.

“Can it wait?” Billy asked,
annoyed at the not-so-impeccable timing.

“Yeah.” Nikki replied
reluctantly looking out the window as she muttered, “Yes, I suppose it will
have to wait.”

Sharon emerged from her
bedroom with some photo album pictures. Cheers erupted from the crowd that
was in the room. Cassie and Noah sat at a small table playing Candy Land
while Victor, Nicholas, Victoria, and Miguel were all talking gaily and
eating cheese niblets, a special creation of Miguel.

“These are so good,” Victoria
said between bites.

“Hey guys.” Sharon called
their attention. “I got the albums.”

“Come on Noah.” Cassie said,
taking his arm. “Let’s go see these pictures. I’ll bet they are really
interesting.”

“Hey, Miguel, what is your
secret to these cheese appetizers?” Nick asked, cheese crumbs falling out
of his mouth as he talked.

“It is all in the brandy,”
Miguel said in his smooth voice. “All in fine brandy.”

“Yeah. Come on.” He helped
her up and like two confessing prisoners, they came up to the wealthy lady
and cleared their throats.

“Um,” Billy began. “Here is
the thing.”

“Can I first learn how many
weeks pregnant she is?” Billy twittered nervously.

“7 months,” he responded
guardedly. “You see, I met Mac and after a long time of not being
together, we got together. And we went through some problems and this is
our second and final time around. And the reason we are running, well--”

“My stepfather,” Mac broke in,
wiping away some tears, “he married my mom when I was real little. He
molested me and of course, you can’t get over something like that. Finally,
my mom divorced him a few months after I ran away from home. I ran away
because I hated my mom and of course, him. And I wanted to find my
real dad. Anyway, I don’t think Ralph, that is his name, ever stopped
thinking about me.” And then she choked up again.

“Oh, darling.” Without a
qualm, the woman came over to Mackenzie and put her pitying arms around the
shaken girl. In her own stomach, she could feel the teen’s life that was
writhing inside of her. “You are safe here.” Billy walked to the other
side of the room, not so sure. He put his clenched fist in front of him and
opened it. The scars from the battle were still running their red course,
so he quickly clenched his hand into a fist again. There were three things
he was worried about. Number one, how many men were there and two,
how could the baby be after such an ordeal, and three, the most perplexing,
why the man had suddenly stopped trying to come in.